Microsoft has signed a deal to open its Windows 7 source code up to the Russian intelligence services. Russian publication Vedomosti reported on Wednesday that Microsoft had also given the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) access to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server source code, with hopes of improving Microsoft sales to the Russian state. The agreement will allow state bodies to study the source code and develop cryptography for the Microsoft products through the Science-Technical Centre 'Atlas', a government body controlled by the Ministry of Communications and Press, according to Vedomosti. . . The agreement is an extension to a deal Microsoft struck with the Russian government in 2002 to share source code for Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2000, said Vedomosti.

last time I checked some senators were making a fuss and went all national-security "blah blah" when IBM was selling their hardware tech to the Chinese, granted that Russia aren't commies anymore but this??!, The US government is really dependent on MS software, this is like early christmas for crackers/hackers. Probably IBM wasn't as good as M$ at lobbying.

The US government is really dependent on MS software, this is like early christmas for crackers/hackers.

So, when the Russian secret service gets access to the source code, the US government needs to be afraid of hackers, right? And what about the other way around? The NSA has had access to the source code for years, so the Russian government has all reason to be afraid, that's why MS gave them the source code.

I'm also not quite comfortable with the NSA and the FSB having access to the sources, and me not. Gives an unfair advantage to hackers. That's why most European countries switch to Linux.